Nagpur: In a major reprieve for Vidarbha Hockey Association (VHA), the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Wednesday stayed the proposed takeover of its Amravati Road ground and directed the divisional commissioner to decide the association’s appeal against cancellation of its lease within six weeks.The order came during the hearing of a writ petition filed by VHA after it failed to secure interim protection before divisional commissionerate. The district administration had issued a notice on August 5 to take possession of the ground on August 13 following collector’s July 17 order cancelling the lease and directing resumption of the Nazul land.Advocates Shantanu Khedkar and Anurag Mankar appeared for VHA before Justice Nandesh Deshpande. According to Mankar, the high court disposed of the writ petition, while protecting the association from dispossession in the interim.“Divisional commissionerate had not decided the appeal on merits and had only declined the stay. Our submission before the HC was that if possession of the ground itself was taken away while the appeal remained pending, the appeal would lose its purpose,” Mankar said.The dispute centres on around 3.80 acres of govt Nazul land on Amravati Road, leased to VHA for hockey activities. According to the petition, the lease was renewed in 2007 and runs till September 2037. However, collector’s July 17 order cancelled the lease over alleged breaches, including issues over recognition, maintenance and non-payment of the annual lease rent of just Rs3. VHA has contested these grounds, saying it remains a registered body, the maintenance issues were rectifiable, and rent had been paid till 2010, after which no demand was raised.Mankar said there was no specific govt order derecognising the association. The petition states that VHA ceased to be a direct affiliate of Hockey India following its 2020 “One State One Unit” restructuring but contends that this did not amount to derecognition of VHA.The recognition issue has separately been the subject of litigation. In July, another HC bench directed the Directorate of Sports and Youth Services to decide VHA’s May 2025 representation concerning its inclusion for sports quota concessions and grace marks within three weeks.
